SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Coast Guard commemorated the delivery of the first HC‑130J Super Hercules aircraft to Air Station Sacramento during a ceremony Thursday.
The HC‑130J provides heavy air transport and long‑range maritime patrol capability. The aircraft’s missionized configuration delivers intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities that enable the Coast Guard to save lives, control, secure, and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches, facilitate commerce, and respond to crises and contingencies.
The ceremony was presided over by Vice Adm. Joseph Buzzella, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area and the Coast Guard’s Ancient Albatross. It marked the delivery of HC-130J capability to the air station and recognized the government and industry teams that funded, built, missionized, tested and delivered CGNR-2018.
“This is a monumental step forward for Air Station Sacramento and the future of Coast Guard aviation,” said Buzzella. “The HC‑130J will be critical to detecting and interdicting migrant and narcotics flows through the maritime approaches to our nation.”
The HC-130J has a cruise speed of 320 knots, a range of 4,900 nautical miles, and an endurance of more than 20 hours. The aircraft can serve as an on-scene command-and-control platform or as a surveillance asset with the ability to detect, classify, and identify objects and share that information with operational forces.
CGNR-2018 is the 18th missionized Super Hercules in the Coast Guard fleet. A second HC-130J aircraft for Sacramento is undergoing missionization at L3Harris in Waco, Texas, with delivery anticipated in spring 2027.
The Coast Guard is using a portion of the $1.142 billion received for fixed-wing aircraft in the fiscal 2025 budget reconciliation funding to expand HC-130J operations to two additional air stations, including Air Station Sacramento.
CGNR-2018 is part of the service’s broader HC-130J expansion effort. Future reconciliation-funded aircraft will include the third and fourth HC-130Js planned for Sacramento, with deliveries expected to begin in fiscal year 2030.
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